Ups and Downs and All-Arounds
by cywscross
Summary: When your best friends are also the most-feared students on the entire campus, life can be tough. Of course, if anybody ever realizes that Law wears an apron when he cooks and Kid spends an hour in the bathroom doing his hair in the morning, opinions might change, though not necessarily for the better. So one might say it's lucky Luffy's always been the laidback sort.


**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from One Piece.**

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**General Warnings:** Modern World!AU, School!AU, Devil-Fruits-Still-Apply-in-this-Universe, language, violence

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**Summary:** When your best friends are also the most-feared students on the entire campus, life can be tough. Of course, if anybody ever realizes that Law wears an apron when he cooks and Kid spends an hour in the bathroom doing his hair in the morning, opinions might change, though not necessarily for the better. So one might say it's lucky Luffy's always been the laidback sort.

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**Author's Notes:** I'm going to try for shorter chapters for this fic, though knowing me, they'll get longer and longer. I started it just for fun, and it was supposed to be mostly plotless (as you can see from the summary), but it decided to run away with itself and I have a semi-formed plotline in mind now that may or may not take a darker turn.

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**Chapter 1**

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**[Past, 5 Years Old]**

_Red hair. A face mostly obscured by shadows. A warm smile directed down at him._

_"This is my precious hat. I'll let you keep it for now. If you really want to know what freedom is, then you'll definitely see me again one day. If that day comes, you can give it back to me then."_

_ ._

_ ._

_ ._

_ "You'll be staying here from now on."_

_ "But Tou-chan, I don't want to-"_

_ "No buts. I don't have time to take care of a kid, especially not one who's always running off."_

_ "I just want to know what it's like to be free! Shanks said-"_

_ "Shanks isn't real, boy. Put that thought out of your head."_

_ "He is too real! He gave me this hat!"_

_ "You just came back with that hat one day; there was no one else around."_

_ "He left-"_

_ "Enough. I have to go. You'll stay here and listen to the caretakers. Do what they tell you to. Understand?"_

_ "...Mm, okay. When will you be back?"_

_ "...As soon as I can. Goodbye, Luffy."_

**[Present]**

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Eustass-ya! If you don't get out of the damn bathroom within the next ten seconds, so help me I'll switch your hair with Bepo's fur!"

Luffy jolted awake, the hazy dream he had been having already well on its way to being forgotten as he grumbled wordlessly into his pillow, shielding his eyes from the sunlight streaming through his curtains.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"And you! Wake the hell up already, Mugiwara-ya! Or I'll eat your breakfast too!"

Luffy shot upright, blinking blearily at the far wall. "'m up! Don't eat my breakfast, Toraaoo!"

"Then hurry up and get your ass out of bed! Eustass-ya, ten seconds are up-"

Bang!

"Fuck off, Trafalgar! What are you, my mother?!"

Luffy rolled his eyes and flopped back onto his bed. This was the norm when it came to their mornings.

With the usual temptation of breakfast ahead of him, Luffy rolled languidly out of bed, stretched, grabbed his school uniform, and dragged himself to the door. Opening it and shuffling outside, he automatically sidestepped the pair of scissors flying for his face. With a thud, it embedded itself in the doorframe.

Luffy sighed as he eyed the faceoff in front of him, Kid wearing a scowl and surrounded by sharp metallic objects while Law smiled back mockingly, twirling a spatula in one hand.

Luffy shook his head and slouched off to the bathroom, worming past Kid and locking the door before the redhead took notice.

There was a bellow of rage and a thump against the wooden door on the other side but Luffy ignored it and went about his morning routine. They'd already had to replace the balcony _again_ three days ago; Law wouldn't let Kid destroy another part of their dorm for at least another two weeks or so.

It was lucky they got this floor to themselves, Luffy mused as he brushed his teeth. Although to be fair, nobody in their right mind would want to share with them anyway. Kid was violent, Law was sadistic, and Luffy... well, Kid and Law always insisted that Luffy was the craziest out of the three of them, though he had yet to figure out why. Sure, he played a few pranks now and again, and Smokey-sensei always looked like he wanted to strangle something every time he spotted Luffy, but at least he didn't beat people up when they looked at him wrong or switch body parts just for the heck of it.

Most people stayed clear of them though. Half a year ago, on the first day they had entered Grand Line High, Kid had sent fourteen other kids to the infirmary, Law had created havoc in the male students' lounge, Luffy had painted the school gates, gym floors, and a third of the classroom ceilings orange without anyone catching him, and by the end of the day, one of the dorm heads had all but flung the keys to the top floor of the boys' dormitory building at them and told them that they could have the entire storey to themselves if they left all the other floors alone. Apparently, the other students had literally begged not to have to share with them.

Needless to say, they'd agreed to the deal. Kid had smirked as if this was the outcome he had wanted from the very beginning, Law had caught the ring of keys and sauntered off with a last _Shambles_ that switched two students' hearts with each other, and Luffy had laughed wildly because having a whole floor between the three of them would be a lot of fun. They wouldn't have to share with strangers.

The living facilities were separated from the actual high school, a ten-minute walk between the two. The lodgings themselves were separated by gender, both dormitory buildings consisting of eight floors in addition to a large students' lounge on the ground floor. Each floor had two dozen bedrooms, four spacious bathrooms, a sitting room, a kitchen with a dining room attached, a laundry room, and a sizeable terrace with a great view of the rest of the campus. Curfew was at eleven, though that only meant that all students had to be in their rooms by lights-out, and seeing as even the dorm heads were more than willing to leave them to their own devices, that really just meant that the three of them had to be seen trekking back up to their floor each night. Sometimes, they ended up slipping out anyway, with Kid hauling Luffy and Law out to the nearest shopping district for a late-night meal or a trip to the arcade.

Of course, when they'd first moved in, Kid had insisted on renovating one of the bathrooms into a weight room, Law, being a budding prodigal doctor even at fifteen, had insisted on renovating another bathroom into an operation room (_The fuck, Trafalgar? That's just creepy._), and Luffy hadn't cared either way so long as they had plenty to eat in the fridge, so Kid and Law had ended up dismantling a third bathroom and changing it into a library. Luffy actually secretly liked reading, especially stories of far-off places, so he had been more than happy with the arrangement.

Unfortunately, this also left them with only one bathroom so every morning was a ritual of Law yelling for Kid to hurry up and Luffy scurrying past the grouchy redhead while he was distracted.

Two sharp knocks jerked Luffy out of his thoughts.

"Luffy, did you fall asleep on the toilet again? Come on; your breakfast is going to get cold."

"Coming!" Luffy called back, yanking his pants on and almost falling flat on his face when he tried to put on his socks at the same time.

By the time he got to the dining area, Kid was munching irritably on a piece of toast with a newspaper spread out beside him while Law was still bustling around the kitchen, the pan sizzling with bacon. Bepo, Law's pet bear (_Who the fuck has a pet bear, Trafalgar? I can't believe I live with you._), was already wolfing down his own breakfast in his corner of the room.

Luffy grinned and bounded into his seat where a plate topped high with sausages, ham, scrambled eggs, and a side of fruit was already waiting for him. "Thanks, Law! This looks great!"

"You've been saying that for years, Mugiwara-ya," Law sounded amused. "Just eat. Did you finish your homework?"

"Mmrup!" Luffy managed around a mouthful before swallowing with a loud gulp. "Yeah, I did! Kid didn't though!"

He dodged the fork aimed at his head and snickered gleefully at the glower Kid had pinned him with.

"Shut up, Luffy!" The redhead snapped. "I don't care about math, and I care even less about the old hag teaching it! She never shuts up; why can't she go nag someone else? I can't be the only one who doesn't finish a few math problems."

"I like Tsuru-sensei," Luffy defended. "She's nice."

"She's nice to _you_," Kid emphasized. "'Cause she thinks you're adorable. The hag is going senile if you ask me."

Luffy pouted, but brightened again when Law strolled over with a fresh plate of bacon.

"She likes me too," Law said smugly, untying the flowery pink apron from around his waist and hanging it up before taking a seat beside Luffy. Kid had bought that apron for Law as a gag gift, meant to embarrass the doctor. Law had taken to wearing it with a smile on his face just to spite the redhead.

"No fucking clue why," Kid snarked back, expertly stabbing five pieces of bacon and whisking them back to his own plate half a second before Luffy's arms extended and snatched up the rest. "And she's practically the only one. The rest of the staff thinks you're the harbinger of death or something."

"The _Surgeon_ of Death," Law corrected with a disturbing amount of pride. Luffy grinned around his food. The students had all taken to calling Law by that nickname after a week of various people being subjected to the promising doctor's frightening Devil Fruit power.

Grand Line High, along with Four Blues Elementary, Reverse Mountain Middle, and Marineford University, were unlike any other schools. For one, everything was located on a gigantic island mostly isolated from the rest of the world, with only a bridge, an airport, and a harbour linking One Piece Island to the mainland. For another, while the schools were open for anyone with high enough grades or the right connections, they also harboured just about every child born with the power of a Devil Fruit.

Rumours had it that a Devil Fruit – an actual _fruit_, which was just weird in Luffy's opinion – disappeared from the world the moment someone with that particular ability was born, and reappeared again when that person died. Luffy had never actually seen a Devil Fruit before so he didn't know if this was true or not.

Still, it didn't change the fact that if you were born with a Devil Fruit power, then you were packed off to One Piece Island when you were old enough to go to school.

(Sometimes even before that; there were orphanages in one part of the island sectored off for children whose parents didn't want 'Devil spawn'. One of those orphanages had been where Luffy had met Law and Kid.)

But because of so many Devil Fruit users, the rules around here regarding discipline were much more lax. Fights happened quite often, students were expected to defend themselves, and there were always injured people coming and going from the medical wing, though the teachers – who could all kick some serious ass if need be – always kept a sharp eye on them to make sure things didn't get too out of hand.

As it was, the school faculties also doubled as the main branch of law enforcement for the government, and the teachers were sometimes summoned for top-secret missions of some kind off the island.

(Luffy wasn't really fond of the idea of having to follow orders like that – he didn't like people telling him what to do – but he was considering it if only because he had always wanted to see what the rest of the world was like. He'd heard of a place called Alabasta that was supposed to be a kingdom in the desert, and he'd heard of another place called Fishman Island that was supposed to be _underwater_, and he wanted to see it all. The only other option was to sneak off the island and essentially become a criminal. Devil Fruit users weren't legally allowed to simply leave since it was supposedly too dangerous for them to run free.)

"Hey, did you see this?" Kid spoke up suddenly, breaking the breakfast lull that had fallen over the table. He waved the morning paper in the air. "One of the World Nobles fucked up when he was visiting Impel Down and ended up letting a few prisoners escape. The reporter who wrote this article managed to get it out to the public before she 'went on vacation' yesterday. Vacation my ass. Three guesses on what's happened to her."

Law scoffed as Luffy frowned. He didn't like the World Nobles. He'd only seen them a few times and from a distance when they'd come to visit the island but they always treated their servants and even the school principals like they were all far beneath them. Still, even Law and Kid had warned him against bringing attention to himself in their presence; the Nobles ruled the world for a reason, even if that reason wasn't a very good one.

"I'm surprised the news agency wasn't 'mysteriously set on fire'," Law remarked, absently swirling his mug of coffee.

"Oh that'll probably be in tomorrow's paper," Kid snorted, folding up the _Daily Blues_ and tossing it to the side. "Then again, we'll have to prescribe to a different one first if we want to read about it."

He paused mid-turn, Law paused mid-sip, and Luffy paused mid-chew when the phone rang. One look at the Caller ID told them that it was one of their dorm heads probably calling from outside their door.

Each floor had an entrance leading to a stairwell that ran from the top floor to the bottom. Usually, dorm heads kept the keys to the double doors that opened into each level but Luffy, Law, and Kid were an exception.

"The fuck do you want?" Kid growled after reaching over and jabbing a finger against the speakerphone button.

"_Err... school starts in fifteen minutes, Eustass-kun,"_ The voice told them nervously.

"We _can_ read a clock, thanks," Kid shot back sarcastically before abruptly ending the call. "They just never give up, do they?"

"Shishishishi! It's their job, Kiddy! They have to make sure all the students leave on time." Luffy downed the rest of his water before taking a swipe at Kid's coffee. The redhead easily moved it out of the way while Law drank the rest of his before Luffy could do more than glance at him.

Luffy huffed. Neither of his friends let him have any coffee, just because he had drank a _little_ too much that one time and had ended up wrecking the living room and smashing the TV.

"Don't call me that," Kid barked as he rose to his feet and dumped his dishes in the sink.

Luffy just grinned again. Kid sounded more resigned than angry. Luffy had been butchering their names since they'd still been in the orphanage. They should be thankful that Luffy called them by their proper names more often than not nowadays. Law still used his personal nicknames for them most of the time while Kid varied depending on his mood.

"Tuck your shirt in," Law reminded them as they grabbed their bags. "You got detention last time."

Luffy made a face but he did as he was told before throwing out an arm all the way back to his room and retrieving his precious straw hat. He couldn't wear it during class but he always had it tied around his neck.

"Don't act like my mother, Law," Kid sneered even as he half-heartedly adjusted his uniform.

Law poked him none-too-gently in the ribs with an elbow as he brushed past them towards the door, giving a last pat to the head for Bepo as the bear ambled after them and saw them off. "You don't _have_ a mother, Eustass-ya."

Luffy rested his arms behind his head as his two best friends bickered all the way down the stairs. None of them paid any attention to the way the other students all immediately zoomed in on them with wary eyes the moment they entered the ground floor and out the front door.

As they stepped outside, Luffy peered up at the sunny sky and smiled. Today was a good day; maybe they could make a trip to the coastline after school. Even though he couldn't swim, he loved staring out across the ocean and imagining all the new places out there.

"Daydreaming, Luffy?"

Luffy blinked and found his friends waiting for him several paces ahead, having stopped their argument in favour of watching him.

"Yeah, you've been quieter than usual this morning," Kid agreed, though all three of them knew that Luffy wasn't really as loud as he portrayed himself to be in public.

Law cocked his head and inspected him closely for a moment, probably to see if Luffy was coming down with something, before reaching back and slinging an arm around his shoulders. "Come on, we're going to be late."

"Is that supposed to be incentive?" Kid scoffed as he fell into step on Luffy's other side.

"I wasn't talking to you," Law retorted. "You don't even have to show up for all I care."

"What did you say?!"

"Going deaf in your old age, Eustass-ya?"

"I'm not the one who putters around the kitchen like some housewife-"

"Well who else is going to cook, you? You're too busy primping yourself in front of the mirror every morning, and Mugiwara-ya would give everyone food poisoning before noon."

Luffy chuckled at the assessment even as Law shoved him to the side just as Kid lunged at the doctor and the two promptly got into a scuffle right there in the middle of the street, paying no mind to the nervous students scooting around them and giving them a wide berth.

It was true – Luffy loved to eat but he couldn't cook to save his life; he was the type to burn water. Kid _could_ cook, at least some of the simpler dishes, but he had zero interest in it and would much rather spend his time making sure every single strand of hair stood straight up in that untamed, I'm-dangerous-so-stay-away-if-you-don't-want-me-to -fuck-your-shit-up style (as Kid had dubbed it).

On the other hand, Law, with his deft hands and nimble fingers, could cook up anything Luffy wanted, and he didn't mind doing it either.

Luffy tilted his head as fists flew in front of him. Checking his watch, he allowed a wide grin to stretch across his face.

His arms shot out and wrapped twice around each of his best friends before extending even further all the way down the road and grasping the school gates in the far distance. They immediately froze, heads snapping around to stare at him.

"W- Wait, Mugiwara-" Kid began squirming, alarm flashing across his features.

"Mugiwara-ya, you better not-" Law started warning, also attempting to twist out of Luffy's hold.

"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed deviously as he backed up a few steps. "Gomu Gomu no..."

With another wild laugh, Luffy let his feet leave the ground. "-Rocket!"

As Luffy slingshotted all three of them through the air, almost mowing down several students who were in the process of scrambling out of the way, Luffy just cackled as Law's long-suffering sigh and Kid's storm of swearwords reached his ears.

So long as he had these two, he couldn't ask for a better life.

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**Please leave a review on your way out.**

**So the idea for this story basically started when I saw a few pieces of artwork of Luffy, Law, and Kid hanging out as students in modern-day time. Then I thought 'wouldn't it be cool if a fic was set in a modern time!AU', and then that led to 'if that happened, what would Luffy be like', which led to 'why not create a somewhat different background for him if he's going to be friends with Law and Kid anyway?'. And **_**this**_** is the result.**


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